New Ford in the Capital
 

Someone a while back posted a picture of a '28 Sport Coupe with a congressman. This one was titled New Ford in the Capital, it displays several early features. Nice era photo.

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

This was Model A Engine Number 35, an October 24, 1927 engine stamping, delevered to the assembly line on October 27, 1927 and the car was presented to Senator James Couzens on December 13, 1927 near the US Capitol in Washington, DC.

It was the first Model A delivered to the National Capitol.

Pluck

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

Great photo Bick and thanks for the info Steve. It made me search for Senator Couzens. Turns out he was a good friend of Henry. Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 with John S. Gray as president, Ford as vice-president, Malcomson as treasurer, and Couzens as secretary. Couzens took over the business management of the new firm for a salary of $2400. In 1906, Gray died and Malcomson was eased out of the business, and Couzens became vice president and general manager of the company. The company made both Ford and Couzens wealthy, due in no small part to Couzens's business acumen. However, the two men gradually grew apart, and in 1915 Couzens resigned his position as general manager, although he retained a seat on the board. In 1919, Ford purchased Couzens's shares in the company for $30,000,000.
Couzens went on to become US Senator from Michigan.

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

Fabulous research! But.. Why wasn't Ford the top man at the inception of the FMC?

Larry

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

I like photos where one can do a Before (Then) and After (Now) photo.

I wonder if someone could take their 1928 Sport Coupe and take a photo in the exact spot as the above photo.

Pluck

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

-because wealthy investors had provided the initial funding for the company, Mr. Ford was the idea man. Over the years, through various shrewd actions, he acquired a controlling interest.

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

why didn't it have open-ended bumpers?

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

Ford's first recall.:D

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

That area of the capitol was recently remodeled to make room for the new underground visitor center. The area is still paved, still serves as a sort of driveway/parking lot to it's conceivable you could duplicate this exact picture, however, Its now inside a security barrier, so you'd need special permission. Great photo!

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

Couzens was also mayor of Detroit. Couzens sister was a teacher and invested $100 in Ford at the inception and ended up getting $262 thou out of that investment.

The Dodge brothers were also investors and made a fortune in addition to supplying many parts for Model Ts. Their earnings helped them finance their own competing car company.

FMC was Ford's third attempt at a car company. The third time is a charm, I guess, as this company was successful almost instantly. There were many who were instrumental in the success of Ford Motor Company, Couzens probably chief among them. Harold Wills was another contributor to the engineering of the Model T. Henry was far from alone in the success of Ford, although he had the vision.

Ford wanted to continue to invest in the company and his shareholders wanted dividends. It ended up going to court and Ford lost. He eventually bought everyone else out through a variety of means.

Here are the original investors. Some didn't make out so well

https://www.thehenryford.org/exhibit.../investors.asp

Charles Sorensen was one of the few around in the early days who stayed on. A fascinating story of a business. There are some very good books about the history of Ford, not all of it pretty.

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

It also serves as a "photo in time" telling us just about when Ford replaced the open bumper with the closed bumper...Sometime before December 13, 1927. It would of been about the 9th vehicle that Ford may have assembled...maybe not...If one were to go by when A35 was sent to final assembly.

Pluck

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

"why didn't it have open-ended bumpers?"

Maybe Ford was still putting leftover Model T bumpers on cars sold to the unwashed masses and the new Model A bumpers on cars sold to the anointed few.

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

Ford supplied it's own open end bumper for the Model A which was slightly longer that the Model T bumpers. They were suposedly on the first 200 cars out of the Fordson assembly plant for which A35 was one of them. It is believed that most of the first 200 cars went to the varrious assembly plants here in the USA. Most if not all of these had their bumpers changed out to the closed end type.

Pluck

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

Thanks for all the added information, this is what makes the Fordbarn such a great site. The two attached photos of the first A is Stockton, which clearly illustrate Steve's point above. Spot the difference?

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

Yea, there is a babe on the running board in the first picture! lol

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

Is this the same car (just on a dryer day) (from the Library of Congress):
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...psvlywaerp.jpg
or
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...psou2elhd5.jpg
or
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...pstr1kmu7n.jpg
or
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...psunueptsq.jpg

I was told that the gentleman in the first two photos is Senator George W. Norris (Rep, NE) standing next to his Ford in the Capitol parking lot. Not sure about the other to photos, but all were taken in the D.C. area apparently.

Does anyone recognize the men in the other photos?

Fordially,
Brad in Maryland

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

hard to tell from the photos, but he is known to have almost single-handedly, during the 1920s, blocked Mr. Ford's attempts to cheaply acquire the power plant systems that later became the TVA in the '30s. The plants were built at great expense by the government to produce nitrates during the war, but scientific advancements soon rendered them obsolete. Interesting that he would be posing with a Model A, of all cars.

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

Bick,

Your photo is from the Library of Congress here in the US. Here is the high definition version to better see the details:
http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/npcc/33200/33277v.jpg

Click on the above image and the link will take you to the reference in the Library of Congress where you can download various resolution copies of this photo (.JPG, .TIFF, etc format). ....or if you would like to count the rain drops on the hood click here and then click on the + cursor to magnify the image....then you can see the most minute details (script in hub caps or the car key ring for example) - careful it is 31.1MB!!.

Fordially,
Brad in Maryland

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

Brad,

No, it is not the same car...different licence plates. BUT...The same car, as that in the first post, is in the last photo of your series on the right.
Pluck

Re: New Ford in the Capital
 

i zoomed in and i noticed the radiator and gas caps, they are not the "dished" center, are these earlier then those?